Continuous mining machine



NOV. 29, 1966 J. GQNSK] CONTINUOUS MINING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 5, 1964 mm mm mm mm mm INVENTOR. JOSEPH GONSKI ATTOR N EY Nov. 29, R966 .1. GONSKI 3,288,533

CONTINUOUS MINING MACHINE Filed May 5, 1964 55 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JOSEPH GONSKI #WESML ATTORNEY Nov. 29, 1966 J GONSKI CONTINUOUS MINING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 5, 1964 D D m D D D a INVENTOR.

JOSEPH GONSKI ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,288,533 CONTINUOUS MINING MACHINE Joseph Gonski, Chicago, Ill., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Westinghouse Air Brake Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed May 5, 1964, Ser. No. 364,966 7 Claims. (Cl. 29957) The present invention relates generally to boring type mining machines and more particularly to a boring head therefor.

Ordinarily, the operating procedure for a continuous mining machine involves the cutting and dislodging of material from the face of a mineral seam. The dislodged material is often allowed to fall to the floor where it is gathered onto a iioor level conveyor for transportation rearwardly away from the face. In some cases, the mound of dislodged material can present a problem of choking before it is carried away, since the dislodged material occupies more volume in the broken condition than in the solid state.

An object of the present invention is to provide means for moving some of the material from an upper portion of the seam to the vicinity of the conveyor at a level above the floor.

Another object is to move the broken material rearwardly toward the conveyor throat with an impetus in the direction of conveyor movement.

A further object is to provide means for mounding the broken material at a position rearwardly of the face.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description together with the drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the forward portion of a mining machine showing the cutting and dislodging heads;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view, partly in section, of the forward portion of a mining machine showing the relationship of the conveyor and cutting heads; and

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation view, showing the transverse relationship of the conveyor with one of the cutting heads.

Referring now to the drawings, the numeral indicates generally an auxiliary frame supported on a mobile frame 11 by elevating jacks 12 and 13. Mobile frame 11 is equipped with tractor treads 14 for propelling it along the ground. The drive means for tractor treads 14 is of conventional construction and it is believed unnecessary to provide a more detailed description. A conveyor 16 is also mounted on mobile frame 11 and has a throat 17 at the forward end thereof. Foot shaft 18 is located in throat 17 and carries a roller 19 for reversing the direction of chain 21 and flights 22. Scrolls 23 and 24 extend from the ends of foot shaft 18 and are fitted with cutter bits 26 for trimming a fiat floor. Scrolls 23 and 24 are wound oppositely in order to propel material to a central position aligned with conveyor throat 17. A plow 27 is located adjacent the lower front end of foot shaft 18 for urging material upwardly onto conveyor 16.

Auxiliary frame 10 has a motor 28 mounted on the rear wall thereof. Gears, bearings and shafts such as 29, 31, 32 provide a drive train between motor 28- and heads 33, 34, 36. An upper roof trimmer 37 is also supported on auxiliary frame 10 and driven by internal connections to the gearing and shafts therein. Cutter bits 38 trim the cusps between adjacent mining heads.

Heads 33 and 34 are located to either side in a position lagging central head 36. Heads 33 and 34 are similar in construction having a center cutter 39, fixed diameter intermediate cutters 41 and retractible outer cutters 42. Outer cutters 42 carry a plate 43 for urging material toward the center of the machine in alignment with conveyor 16.

Cutter 'head 36 is mounted on a forwardly extending drive shaft 44 which has a center cutter assembly 46 incorporated in its front end. Helically disposed internal blades 47 are mounted on shaft 44 and support tubular drum 48 which is open at both ends. Both center cutter 46 and tubular drum 48 have cutter bits at the forward end for cutting annular kerfs in the mineral seam. As shown particularly in FIGURE 2, drum 48 may increase in diameter toward the rear so that the rear outlet end is larger than the front cut-ting end. Drum 48 has a diameter less than that cut by center head 36 and extends rearwardly from the face toward conveyor throat 17. It should be understood that material leaves drum 48 with an upward and rearward impetus due to its rotation. As a result, the diameter of drum 48 could be increased beyond the proportions shown in FIGURE 2 and still function to impel material toward throat 17.

Outer fixed diameter cutters 49 are connected to drum 48. When head 36 is rotated at right angles to the position shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, cutters 49 are out of contact with the roof and floor as shown in FIGURE 1. This provides clearance without the retractibility shown by cutters 42 on heads 33 and 34. Adequate clearance is also obtainable at rotational positions between the horizontal and vertical.

Outer helical blades 51 are connected to the outer surface of drum 48 and serve to move fioor level material toward the conveyor.

Center head 36 thus provides a cutting and dislodging head capable of attacking and reducing a mine face while transporting a portion of the material rearwardly above the floor and at the same time urging material on the floor toward the conveyor throat.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that other useful forms can be constructed within the spirit of the invention and scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a continuous miner,

a mobile frame,

a conveyor carrier by said mobile frame and having a ground level inlet threat at the forward end portion thereof,

an auxiliary frame carried by said mobile frame and having cutting and dislodging means including a leading, central boring assembly flanked by a pair of lagging side boring assemblies effective to cut overlapping bores in a mine face,

said central boring assembly including a boring tube forward of and aligned with said conveyor throat and rotatable about an axis parallel to the direction of movement of said mobile frame,

said boring tube being open at front and back ends and having cutter means disposed along the front edge effective to cut and dislodge material within the area of the tube and transfer it directly backward through the open back end toward said conveyor throat,

said central boring assembly having eccentric, peripheral cutting means effective to cut a diameter larger than said boring tube, said peripheral cutting means being rotatable to a position clear of the floor and roof.

2. In a continuous miner, the combination of claim 1 in which the side boring assemblies have peripheral cutting means which are adjustable to and from an expanded boring position, whereby said miner is readily adjusted to clear the roof, floor and sidewalls simultaneously, for moving from one mining location to another by adjusting said side boring assemblies inward away from their expanded boring position and rotating said center boring assembly clear of the floor and roof.

3. The structure of claim 1, wherein the boring tube has a conveying spiral extending along its inner side, and wherein the boring tube diverges from its front to its rear end to provide an inclined passageway sloping from the front to the rear end of said boring tube cooperating with said conveyor scroll and providing a free passageway for the passage of the cuttings cut by the cutter means disposed along the front edge of the boring tube beyond the rear end thereof for discharge in front of the conveyor.

4. The structure of claim 1,

wherein a drive shaft extends along the central portion of said boring tube beyond the forward end thereof and forms a support and drive member for said boring tube,

wherein a row of cutter bits extends about the front end of said drive shaft for cutting an annular pilot kerf in the mine face,

wherein the shaft diverges from its front to its rear end to wedge the core between said cutter bits and said cutter means disposed along the front edge of said tube,

and wherein said boring tube diverges from its front to its rear end to provide free passage of the mined material therealong and to wedge the core between said cutter means disposed along the front edge of said boring tube and the peripheral cutting means effective to cut a diameter larger than the boring tube.

5. The structure of claim 4,

wherein helically disposed blades extend inwardly and outwardly of said boring tube from positions spaced rearwardly of said eccentric, peripheral cutting means.

6. In a continuous miner,

a mobile frame,

a conveyor carried by said mobile frame and having a ground level inlet throat at the forward end portion thereof,

an auxiliary frame carried by said mobile frame and having cutting and dislodging means including a leading central boring assembly flanked by a pair of lagging side boring assemblies effective to cut overlapping bores in a mine face,

said central boring assembly including a boring tube forward of and aligned with said conveyor throat and rotatable about an axis parallel to the direction of movement of said mobile frame,

a drive shaft extending along the central portion of said boring tube and having a row of cutter bits extending about the front end thereof, effective to cut an annular kerf in front of said shaft,

said tube being open at its front and rear ends and having a row of cutter bits disposed along the front edge thereof effective to cut an annular kerf spaced radially outwardly of the kerf cut by said row of cutter bits on said shaft,

said shaft having a, frusto-conical peripheral portion increasing in diameter from its front to its rear end, to wedge off the core left between said cutter bits at the front of said shaft and said cutter bits disposed along the front edge of said tube,

and the inner periphery of said tube diverging from its front to rear end and generally conforming to the frusto-conical peripheral portion of said shaft to provide an annular space between said shaft and tube of sufficient volume to effect the free flow of mined material along the inside of said tube onto said conveyor.

7. The structure of claim 6,

wherein a helically disposed blade extends between said shaft and tube from a position disposed sufficiently rearwardly of the forward end of said shaft to accommodate said shaft to freely wedge the core between said shaft and tube from the face.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,733,057 1/1956 Letts 29957 2,750,175 6/ 1956 Cartlidge 29957 2,770,449 11/1956 McCarthy 29987 X ERNEST R. PURSER, Primary Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,288,533 November 29, 1966 Joseph Gonski It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 2, line 43, for "carrier" read carried Signed and sealed this 12th day of September 1967.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER Attesting Officer EDWARD J. BRENNER Commissioner of Patents 

1. IN A CONTINUOUS MINER, A MOBILE FRAME, A CONVEYOR CARRIER BY SAID MOBILE FRAME AND HAVING A GROUND LEVEL INLET THROAT AT THE FORWARD END PORTION THEREOF, AN AUXILIARY FRAME CARRIED BY SAID MOBILE FRAME AND HAVING CUTTING AND DISLODGING MEANS INCLUDING A LEADING, CENTRAL BORING ASSEMBLY FLANKED BY A PAIR OF LAGGING SIDE BORING ASSEMBLIES EFFECTIVE TO CUT OVERLAPPING BORES IN A MINE FACE, SAID CENTRAL BORING ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A BORING TUBE FORWARD OF AND ALIGNED WITH SAID CONVEYOR THROAT AND ROTATABLE ABOUT AN AXIS PARALLEL TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF SAID MOBILE FRAME, SAID BORING TUBE BEING OPEN AT FRONT AND BACK ENDS AND HAVING CUTTER MEANS DISPOSED ALONG THE FRONT EDGE EFFECTIVE TO CUT AND DISLODGE MATERIAL WITHIN THE AREA OF THE TUBE AND TRANSFER IT DIRECTLY BACKWARD THROUGH THE OPEN BACK END TOWARD SAID CONVEYOR THROAT, SAID CENTRAL BORING ASSEMBLY HAVING ECCENTRIC, PERIPHERAL CUTTING MEANS EFFECTIVE TO CUT A DIAMETER LARGER THAN SAID BORING TUBE, SAID PERIPHERAL CUTTING MEANS BEING ROTATABLE TO A POSITION CLEAR OF THE FLOOR AND ROOF. 